Have
you ever had that moment where you become frustrated with yourself when you try
to compose some music because you realize it always sounds the same? There is a difference when “that’s so-and-so’s
signature sound” becomes, “haven’t I heard that before?” I have recently been running into that
problem. I’m going to share some of my
tips that helped me get out of it. These
“tips” may be common sense to some, or not helpful to others. However, I hope these may help someone!

Don’t
turn into this; unless it makes you tons of money of course!

Listen to Different Music

This
may seem like common sense, and probably is to most, but try it. There is music you like. You have a favorite song whether you can name
it or not. There is a sound you are
attracted to. That’s just how it
goes. Chances are, your music is emulating
something you heard a lot of as a child that you are subconsciously remembering,
or a band you like now.

If
you listen to rap, try rock. If you like
country, try pop. If you like techno,
try classical. Broadening your musical
horizon will give you more ideas about how to produce different music.

Try Producing a Different Genre

We
all have that style of music that we love to listen to, and/or prefer to
produce. For instance, I enjoy
rock. I noticed that all my songs seemed
to follow the same sound. So I tried a “world”
approach. I made some Japanese tracks
and some Celtic tracks. The Japanese
tracks became featured on the YouTube channel WasabiCars!

So I
got complacent with that. Then I wrote a
rap. Now I’m working on more modern
sounding film score music. If you just
think outside the box, regardless if you like to or not, you will start to hear
different sounds then you are used to.
You may even find that you have a skill in another genre.

Try Different Instruments, Plugins, and
Inserts

Well
it’s pretty obvious, but to have your music sound different, use something to literally
make it sound different. Since I, like
most of you, am on a budget, Logic
Pro 9 and Pro Tools 9 becomes my band, orchestra, choir, or whatever I
need. When I first started using Logic,
I found a drum kit that I really liked. I
realized that I kept going to that one over and over again.

I
picked a different drum kit, put a different reverb on it, added some delay, and
compressed it. BAM! A completely different sound! Now don’t trap yourself and use the same rhythm. A different sound deserves a different
rhythm.

You have so many
options. Try something different. Courtesy of ProToolerBlog

Don’t Use Presets or Loops!

This
could be one of the biggest reasons that your music may not only sound the same
to what you make, but why it may sound the same to what others make. I won’t spend too music time on loops because
it’s obvious: anyone can use them.
Unless someone is paying you next to nothing for music, just don’t use
them.

It
is very easy to throw in a digital instrument or plugin and just start
recording. You may create something that
sounds quite good, but then the next time it’s the same, and so on. Change the settings! In modern DAWs, each plugin usually has a crazy amount of
settings! Tweaking just two knobs
and flipping a random switch can create a drastically different sound. You don’t even need to know what you’re doing.
Just do it, and listen.

As
mentioned, these four steps may have been common sense to some, but there are
probably a few of you out there that may be just starting out, and are
stumped. Try out these steps. They may help you break out of your creative
box that you have put yourself in.

Do what
you like, but don’t be afraid to try something new. Most importantly, have fun with it! I hope I was able to help some of you guys of
there! Produce on brothers and sisters;
produce on.